


This Ship Is Definitely Sailing

by tsukiomnom



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Eventual Levi/Eren Yeager, M/M, May Be Instances Of Gore/Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pirate AU, Rating May Change, Slow Build, ereri, sarcastic assholes probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2014-12-15
Packaged: 2018-02-27 19:29:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2703812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsukiomnom/pseuds/tsukiomnom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>snk!pirateAU. Levi has a ragtag crew all with different reasons for joining up with him and choosing the glamorous life of pirates and pillagers. The first time they dock in the small harbor town of Shinganshina, it doesn’t leave very good impressions, that is, until he meets a certain green-eyed brat. And if you ask, Captain Levi’s crew does not have a bet on when or if Eren joins the crew. And Hange most definitely does not lead the bet on when and if they do the do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Your Destination: Shitshiner

**Author's Note:**

> So there was this idea I saw floating around on Tumblr and it really made me want to write this, so hopefully it turns out good.
> 
> Go check out snk_no_free, her stories are great and she was kind enough to help give ideas to solidify this story! Her tumblr is [tsukitoyuki.tumblr.com](http://tsukitoyuki.tumblr.com/) and mine is [tsukiomnom.tumblr.com!](http://tsukiomnom.tumblr.com/)
> 
> This work is unbeta'd.

This damn sea was becoming boring for everyone on the ship. They had set sail three weeks before and had been sailing nonstop the entire time. They were maybe a day or so from the next expected strip of land, a small harbor town named Shitshiner or something like that. Not that anybody really cared what it was called, just so long they could get off the ship and stretch their legs and eat some real food.

Captain Levi was perhaps the grouchiest aboard Humanity’s Strongest, although if you asked any of the crewmates, they would tell you that were always true no matter the circumstances.

His second-in-command, First Mate Hange Zoe, came running up the shining wooden steps to the ship’s wheel.

“Captain! Captain, we should reach land in less than two hours!”

“Hmm?” he asked, pulling himself from his thoughts. “Finally. What’s the name of this shitty town again?”

“Shiganshina, sir!”

Well, he hadn't been that far off now had he?

“Very well,” Levi replied. “Go back to your duties then. Ask Petra to take note of what needs restocking and report back to me before we reach Shiganshina.”

Hange put her right fist against her chest and skipped off. Levi stared after her and wondered why in the living hell he ever decided to take her on and make her his first mate. It was probably because no one else could put up with his sadistic ass for that long, if he had to take a guess.

A small, salty breeze ruffled his hair and he took a deep breath in. Despite the lack of excitement right now, there was no denying how much he loved the sea.

It was infinite and unpredictable.

But it was lonely.

* * *

 

“Eren! Eren, wait up!” Mikasa yelled, chasing after her brother as he ran through the cobble streets. Today was yet another day that would be spent at the docks. It had been two months since Eren's father had promised to arrive home. Mikasa had learned over the years that Grisha wasn't always the most dependable.

There had been more than one occasion where she had stayed up all night comforting her brother. But, despite his lack of appearance, he never failed to send money for the tax collectors, market days, and for whatever they desired to buy. His job as a respected doctor never failed to pay well. Except for now. Since his last letter they had only gotten one sack of coins.

It didn't impact them too much though, they both worked odd jobs whenever they could, building up their own supply of money in case there was ever an emergency. It was Mikasa’s idea and Eren couldn't find a reason to refuse.

Eren stopped running and waited impatiently for his adopted sister to catch up. As soon as she was a few steps from him he took off again. He couldn't waste any time. Today could be the day his father showed up.

While the two of them hadn't departed on the best terms, he was willing to swallow his pride, apologize, and enjoy however long they had together. If he ever got there, that is.

The two of them reached the harbor only a few minutes later. The sea breeze was stronger and the stench of fish and salt made Eren’s nose scrunch in disgust. He loved the sea, but damn sometimes it could smell.

He always wanted to go sailing. You’d think he’d have gone at least once, living in a harbor town but his father strictly forbade it. In fact, that was the argument they had the last time his father had to leave. Eren wanted to sail across that infinite space forever, but for some reason, he couldn't.

His best friend Armin always used to say that if you dreamed hard enough it would happen, one way or another. That was several years ago, before he was taken. It seemed that everyone always left him. Besides Mikasa of course, she was too stubborn to go anywhere.

“When do you think his ship will come in?” Eren asked his sister. She shrugged in response, pulling up her scarf. She honestly wasn't sure if he would even come today.

"Right," Eren muttered. "Well, let's get something to eat and we can wait for him."

"Alright."

For the next hour, they ate in silence. They got up once to dispose of their trash and sat back down. Eren, normally a very active person, was about dead with boredom. This was routine.

"Mikasa," he whined, "this is taking too long."

"We could go see Hannes while we-"

Eren sat up straight and snapped his fingers. "I've got it! We can go visit Hannes while we wait! Let's go, Mikasa!"

She sighed but got up after him. Mikasa chose her battles carefully and this just wasn't worth it.

The tavern that their long-time friend, Hannes, owned and worked at was nearly empty. It was about six in the evening and most were content to stay at home and enjoy a nice meal with their families. 

"Ah, children!" Hannes shouted. "Long time no see! Lemme grab a drink for us and you can tell me how you've been."

"Thanks," Eren grinned. 

The three of them all sat down and recounted everything that had happened recently. Mikasa successfully cured a little's girl's sickness. Eren had gotten some sword training in exchange for work. Hannes had, well, sold some alcohol. Same old, same old. 

During the few minutes it took for them to catch up to the present, the sun outside began dipping past the horizon. Hannes got to work lighting the candles to bring more light. While he was busy doing that he noticed a strange trio walk in.

“Welcome!” he greeted. "What can I get 'ya?"

“How many kegs of rum can you sell us?” The shortest stranger asked with a frown. His eyes scanned the rest of the pub with disinterest until it came to rest at the only other people sitting at the bar. He was unable to determine their ages yet.

Hannes scratched his head. “Let’s see, I've got about three down below I could give ya. How many do ya need?”

“Petra?” He turned to the ginger-haired woman.

“We’ll need at least five if we want it to last the trip to Trost, Captain.”

The Captain sighed. Of course three wouldn't be enough and _of course_ this god-awful town only had _one_ alcoholic vendor. At least, one that wasn't obviously crawling with disease. 

"Fine," he said, turning back to the bartender. "Alright, just hurry up with it, would you? I don't want to stay in this shitt-"

Hange cleared her throat. The last thing they needed was to offend this poor man and get worms in their rum. "How about a round for everybody? Good man, we'll all take your best!"

Hannes gave the short man a dubious look but went to pour out the drinks. The three travelers sat down at the bar. Unfortunately, the girls had longer legs and their captain was stuck sitting next to the two other people already there.

He swore they did this on purpose. Who knew how nasty those people might be. 

Despite that, though, he couldn't help overhearing their hushed conversation.

"Do you think that maybe Dad went up to the house already? His ship could have come in while we've been in here," the one closest to the pirate captain, a boy, said.

The girl sitting beside him, face half-buried in a bright red scarf said, "Maybe. It's possible he's not coming today."

"Right, I know that," the boy insisted. "I just- what if something happened? People are saying that pirates are more active than usual. What if he-"

"Eren," the girl whispered fiercely. "It won't help to kill yourself with worry."

Levi couldn't help but snort softly when he hear this, _Eren_ , talk about pirates. What he would give to see the boy's face when he realized he was sitting right next to one. A Captain, no less.

The girl sat up straight and analyzed the man beside her brother. Who did the little midget think he was to eavesdrop and then mock what they were saying?"

Eren, noticing that Mikasa was a hairbreadth away from confronting the stranger that pulled up beside him, grabbed her arm and shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Mikasa. Ignore the short bastard. He's not worth it."

Usually Eren would have been the one that erupted, but the rum was making his head fuzzy and he was just plain tired. 

"What did you say?" Levi asked, a dangerous glint in his eyes. Hange and Petra dropped their conversation and watched their captain carefully.

Eren turned his head to unknowingly face one of the most feared pirates across the seas. Said pirate took in his face and nearly fell off his seat. His expression didn't change, but his heart hammered in his chest as he looked in Eren's eyes.

Eyes that reminded him of the sea he loved so much.

“You heard me,” the boy answered. “Or are you deaf as well as short?”

Levi’s Quartermaster closed her eyes while his First Mate looked eagerly on, they both knew what was coming next.

“Damn brat,” Levi scowled. Goddamn beautiful brat. He didn’t want to do this, but well, the best form of discipline was pain. And he was determined to make him know his place.

* * *

 

"Mikasa, calm down!"

"Calm down? That complete asshole just attacked you!" Mikasa growled.

"Yeah, well it's not like I didn't, sort of, ask for it."

Mikasa huffed and sat down across from him. They were in the back room of the tavern, in Hannes private quarters, while Mikasa gave Eren a once-over.

"Your face is total shit, Eren."

"Thank you, dear sister of mine, your kind words never cease to warm my cold-stone heart."

Mikasa rolled her eyes and dipped a rag in a bowl of alcohol, there was never a lack of it near Hannes. "Shut up and let me clean the blood off, idiot. Weren't you the one that said he wasn't worth it?"

"Ah, I- heh, well you know-"

"Eren, are you blushing?"

He spluttered and coughed out something that resembled a, "no." How could he be blamed for being _a bit_ flustered around . . . that man. Now that he thought of it, he never heard what his name was. Damn.

"Right," she concluded, "it's probably just the blood."

"Right," Eren agreed quickly.

It was just the blood. 

Not that man.

Definitely not _him_.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Marco You Little Shit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think the title probably says enough tbh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd.  
> Can you believe the 2nd season of snk is coming out in 2016. i want to cry.
> 
> Leave comments, kudos, or whatever. Let me know what you think of this!
> 
> My tumblr is tsukiomnom.tumblr.com if you wanna check me out.

“Sooo,” Hange asked her captain with burning curiosity, “what was that earlier?”

“What are you talking about, shit for brains?”

Hange placed both hands on the edge of the desk, staring straight at Levi.

“Oh? So you didn't notice that hot piece of ass and decide to lay your claim?” The captain said nothing and went back to reading the papers in front of him. “Ah! Levi-i-i-i! You don’t mean to tell me you don’t like him at least a little? If you didn't there’s absolutely NO WAY you would have let him walk out of there alive!”

“Hange, I am trying to get work done. Go torture the crewmates or something before my foot shoves itself up your ass.”

“Levi,” Hange pouted, “you’re no fun! When was the last time you got laid anyway?”

“Hange!” Levi glared.

With a cackling laugh she backed out. “I’m going! I’m going!”

Captain Levi swore every time she opened her goddamned mouth he was _this_ close to murdering her. He needed to find her another hobby besides worrying about his love life . . .

Hange couldn't help but giggle as she made her way to top deck and to where Petra was resting, talking with Boatswain Eld. When Petra heard someone approaching she turned around.

"So," Petra asked, "how did it go?"

"LEVI FOUND HIS NEW BOY TOY!!"

The yell of Captain Levi's, "Hange!!" only made her laugh harder. She was going to help get that boy on this boat and get her captain to finally have a bit of _fun_.

Levi came out of his private quarters and glared at his giddy first mate. Pointing a finger at her he ground out, "I'm going for a drink. Alone. Don't bother me for any reason, understood?"

"Aye, aye, captain!" Hange saluted. Maybe he'd run into you-know-who. One could hope.

* * *

 

"Eren, you probably should stay in bed today."

"Mikasa really," Eren whined. "It's not like I haven't been punched before, for crying out loud! It's just a bruise, I didn't lose a leg and I'm hungry. Do you want me to bring anything back for you?"

His adopted sister sighed and shook her head, she wasn't ready for any food yet. Somebody had come down with a stomach illness so she had been up all night taking care of them. She ate something before dawn broke and that was good enough for now.

"All right, suit yourself. I'll be down at the market then."

"Be safe, Eren," Mikasa shouted after him.

"I'll be fine. Really, you'd think you were my mother."

Eren rushed out the door, grabbing his jacket from the hook as he went and made his way to the street that could make him hungry again even if he just ate. The pastries they had were to die for.

He walked up to the vendor selling apples and said, "Two plea-"

His voice trailed off when he heard loud noises down the street, towards the harbor. It sounded like screams, and it wasn't until the people on the street began running back in his direction he was sure something was wrong. 

He grabbed the arm of a woman fleeing past him.

"What's going on down there?" he asked.

She had a panicked look in her eyes and she cried out, "Pirates!"

Letting go of her arm he brought his attention back to the stampeding crowd.  One of the carts toppled and trapped him between it and the fruit kiosk behind him and the villagers rushing past the only opening left. People were desperate to get themselves and their livelihoods as far away from the pillaging buccaneers as possible. 

Every delayed second brought the marauders closer to Eren, until he could very clearly see individual pirates trashing and looting the homes and businesses around them. Some started fires in the homes they emptied out. 

"What's going on here?" A smooth voice asked behind Eren. He turned around to see the man he met last night at Hannes' tavern leaning against the stand. Said man, was looking at the chaos with a clear expression, almost more interested in the apple in his hand than anything else.

"Ah- you," Eren squeaked. "You should go somewhere where it's safe."

"Worried about me?" He said, flicking his eyes toward him.

"No," Eren blushed, "well, yes, _I mean_ -"

"Don't worry about it, brat," he interrupted. "I can handle myself. What about you?"

"What about me-"

Eren was interrupted by a young voice near the opening the cart and the stalls made.

"Hand over whatever valuables you have!" It was a pirate from the group that just arrived. He had brown hair and a face full of freckles, which didn't look like he could hurt a fly but was pointing a curved sword in their direction. Neither Eren nor Levi felt like being a pirate was very suitable for him. But to each their own they supposed. 

Reaching behind him under his shirt, Eren gripped the dagger Mikasa always made him carry. Sisterly concern saves the day again. He pulled it out and was beginning to charge when the pirate dropped his short and pulled out a pistol. He promptly pulled the hammer and fired the weapon, piercing Eren on his right shoulder.

Upon that unexpected attack, Levi jumped over the stand of apples and used his own sword to sweep the pistol from the other pirate's hand. Using the surprise to his advantage Levi quickly brought his arm up and slashed near the pirate's face. The freckled boy flinched backwards but Levi's sword still made contact, causing a wound on the right side of his face.

His sword fell to the floor and his guard dropped, trying to cover up his face. Levi could have finished him off right then, but his first concern was going to Eren. 

He was still conscious but his gunshot wound was bleeding freely, if he didn't stop it soon he would die from blood loss.

"Damn brat," Levi muttered, "are you always this reckless?"

Eren gave a weak laugh that ended in a grimace. "This is- a _good_ day- you should see- me on the weekends-"

If Captain Levi wasn't so worried about the poor excuse for a love interest, he might have cracked a smile. Maybe. As it were, he felt close to killing him himself. Instead, he ripped a length of material from the hem of the boy's pants and did his best to tie it around the wound. Eren grunted, but otherwise didn't complain.

"You do realize you owe me for this, right?" Levi asked as he picked him up bridal-style. 

"I know," Eren breathed out. Mikasa sure was going to be pissed. "But thank you anyway-"

Levi didn't respond, it looked like Eren had fallen asleep. By now, most of the pirates had taken their loot and went back in the direction of their ship. Most of the buildings in Shiganshina were on fire or burnt down. Stalls were crushed and there were people lying out on the street dying or dead. 

Somebody needed to go after them and make them pay, God knows what the women would go through, but at this moment there was nothing Levi could do. His crew would be fine, they were the best, he made sure of that. Hopefully, Hange or one of the others would be able to remember which crew caused this grief tonight so they could track them down later.

"Oi, Eren," Levi said suddenly. "Where is your house?" He wasn't going to keep walking without knowing where he needed to go.

Eren's eyes fluttered open, showing that beautiful green-blue that Levi didn't have a name for except: Ocean.

"Straight for three streets- then turn left into the woods- for a few minutes-"

"Shit, you know how far that is? Fuck this shit. You owe me, brat. Big time."

 

 

 


	3. Hange your timing sucks ass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi has a request

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's safe to assume that from now on all my chapters are unbeta'd. 
> 
> tsukiomnom.tumblr.com

Mikasa awoke abruptly to a loud knocking on the front door. Eren would just walk in, so she knew that it had to be someone else. She rubbed some of the sleep from her eyes before pulling open the door. Any lingering tiredness immediately left when she saw what was in front of her.

The man who had fought with Eren the night before now carried in his arms, with visible blood on both of them.

“What the hell did you do?” Mikasa yelled.

“I didn’t do shit except save his damn life,” he glared. “Now, are you going to let me in so I can put his heavy ass down?”

She was worried about Eren, yes, but that didn't mean she had to like the idea of letting him in their home. Nevertheless, the opened the door wider and waved her hand in the direction of the main room. 

She watched carefully at the man as he tromped inside and let her brother down with a huff.

"What the hell does he eat?" she heard him mutter under his breath. Once he was sure Eren wasn't about to fall onto the floor, he went and sat down heavily onto one of the kitchen table chairs. 

Mikasa rushed to Eren once he was gone and checked his pulse. It was beating and maybe a little slower than what his usual would be. 

"Go into the kitchen and hand me the medical kit that's sitting out, and then you're going to tell me exactly what happened."

Feeling too tired to bitch at the bitch, he did as she asked (a one-time deal only). 

"So?" Mikasa asked after he didn't start talking right away. "What happened?"

Unwrapping the makeshift bandage she began cleaning the wound while listening to what the short bastard had to say.

"And I assume it was a pirate that shot Eren?"

"Yes."

She sighed as she realized she would have to pull the bullet out.

"Push on his shoulders and hold him down," she said strongly. "I need to remove the shot. I haven't restocked my anesthesia so this is going to hurt."

Grabbing the bullet forceps tightly, she whispered a quick, "Sorry," and inserted the tool into Eren's wound. He jerked awake and had enough time for one yell before Mikasa finished. 

"What the- _hell_ ," Eren gasped, "was that for?"

"You got shot."

"And that's my fault?" he whined.

"Yes," Mikasa said. "I told you to be careful. I'm going to add stitches, and its going to hurt."

He gritted his teeth and braced himself. It wasn't nearly as bad as he was expecting, it stung at first but he could ignore it. Once she was done Mikasa wrapped a clean bandage around his shoulder and then began cleaning her tools. "Look, if what . . ." he looked at the stranger.

"Levi," the short man supplied.

" . . . Levi said is true about the pirates, then I'm needed down in the town. I absolutely _hate_ to do this, but I don't want to leave you alone, Eren. Levi, will you- watch over him until I can get back?"

He smirked, "Why not?"

"I swear to got if you do _anything_ to him at all-"

"Mikasa," Eren broke in, "really, he saved my life. I doubt he's going to kill me while you're gone."

She nodded her head with hesitation but collected all her supplies before going toward the door.

"I'll be back soon." 

* * *

 

 Mikasa made her way to the southeastern part of town, closest to the marketplace and the harbor. Already she could see evidence of the pirate's brutality. Trash and other non-valuables lay littered in the street and houses were burned. It only got worse as she went farther in.

Luckily, there hadn't been as many killed as she expected. Some were merely knocked unconscious or huddled down in shock. She helped whoever she could: bandaging wounds and the like. Many would need stitches, either from sword cuts or bullet holes. 

Shiganshina was in shambles, the pirates had done their worst (or their best depending on your point of view). It would take a long time for the people living here to build back up what was destroyed and regain their feeling of safety. However false it may be.

"AH!" Mikasa heard suddenly. "It's you!"

A woman with glasses and a crazy look in her eyes approached quickly. Mikasa thought she remembered her from the tavern last night, she was one of the- one of Levi's friends.

"Have you seen Captain Levi anywhere?!" she asked with vigor, "he's about yay high, incredibly rude and looks ready to kill someone at any moment? We haven't seen him since he left our ship! Oh! By the way, my name is Hange- Captain Levi's First Mate! What's yours? Are you that boys girlfriend?"

Mikasa stood up and brushed dirt from her pants before speaking, hiding her now burning cheeks behind her scarf. "Mikasa, and Eren's my brother. To answer your other question, yes I've seen him. He's with Eren at our house-"

"OOH! THAT SLY DEVIL!" She shouted. "That didn't take him very long at all, hahaha!"

"Excuse me?" Mikasa asked, a dangerous glint entering her eye. "I hope you're not insinuating what I think you are. That midget isn't doing anything with Eren except making sure he doesn't die while I'm gone."

"Hmm, did something happen?" she asked, light glinting off her glasses.

"Eren got . . . injured during the pirate raid. Levi saved him and brought him to our house."

"That's our Captain!" Hange laughed. "HEY! PETRA!"

The other woman from the night before rushed up to where the two girls were standing. "Yes, did you find him?"

"That's right!" bounced the overly-energetic Hange. "Mikasa, would you kindly tell us the way?"

The last thing Mikasa wanted was even _more_ strangers in her house, but something told her this odd woman would find out one way or another. Giving the directions, she desperately wanted to go with them to make sure Eren was okay, but she had a duty as the nearest (almost) doctor to make sure the citizens were okay.

Hange and Petra began their journey to the place where their captain was, which also conveniently housed the resident cutie with a nice booty. As they arrived, Hange burst through the door and rocketed toward Levi.

"How the hell did you find me, shitty glasses?" he asked in surprise.

 "Deduction and good luck! We came looking for you because we were worried but it looks like we didn't need to be! Did we interrupt you and your cuti-"

"Finish that sentence and I cut your tongue off myself," Levi warned. "Petra?"

"The girl named Mikasa told us."

"Figures," he muttered. "As it were, you did interrupt. I was just asking Eren something important." He turned to the ocean-eyed boy sitting beside him.

"What do you say, Eren, will you join my crew?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aw this ship will kill me i s2g. leave me kudos or something! Wait I think I updated yesterday. Oh well, it can be a treat for you guys yoooo


	4. Boy toy named ahoy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hange didn't really do anything but she's going to take the credit with the kind of grace and poise only she possesses. Levi ends up happy (though you probably couldn't tell from the outside) and Petra gets new subjects for the hidden Fujoshi inside. Mikasa is probably unhappy with the whole situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't even want to talk about my fucking title for this. completely ignore it and me. thank (i like to pretend I'm funny)

The room was quiet, a surprising feat when you considered that Hange was still there. As Eren was about to open his mouth to speak several things happened at once.

First, Hange began squealing like she just discovered the universes' secrets, Petra clapped her hands together and gave an expectant look towards the ocean-eyed boy on the couch, and then Mikasa burst through the door bringing another round of shocked silence.

"Eren, we need to go. _Now_."

"Mikasa, what are you-" Eren began. "What's going on?"

In response, she held up a piece of paper with a sketching on it. As Eren walked closer he realized it was a drawing of his face with a reward at the bottom if he was captured.

He could feel his eyebrows scrunch together as he grew angry. "Mikasa, what is this?"

"The pirates that came here today were looking for you. We need to leave Shiganshina as quickly as possible. I don't know where we can go yet, but-"

"Well, that won't be a problem!" Petra jumped in happily. "Our Captain here just offered Eren to come with us on our ship, I'm sure we could use your abilities too. As of right now, we are in need of someone with medical skills."

Mikasa's eyes narrowed a fraction when she heard it was Levi who offered, but she couldn't really pass up this opportunity. She held up a finger at the ginger-haired woman and pulled Eren away from their hearing range.

"Eren, I know you were told never to sail, but-"

"I- I know, Mikasa! But, Dad . . . he's not here and maybe he's never coming at all. We've waited for him long enough. Right now we have to worry about _ourselves_. It doesn't matter if he would be upset. I'm _not_ going to lose the family I already have with me now."

That brought a small smile to Mikasa's lips and she nodded curtly, turning towards the three other people in the room.

"Eren and I need to pack; we'll meet you down at the docks."

"Hell, no," Levi threw out. "We can wait. Wouldn't want you to get shot by another pirate now would we?"

Eren scowled as he made his way to his bedroom and muttered, "He's not ever going to let me live that down, will he?"

All in all, packing ended up being only twenty or so minutes long. By now, most of the fires were put out and the beginning panic was ebbing, being replaced by grief for those who lost a loved one, or a sense of camaraderie as villagers worked together to rebuild.

Captain Levi had suggested taking the back routes to avoid being spotted, supplying that it wasn't beyond reason for the pirates searching for Eren to have bribed or threatened people to look for him.

Mikasa still didn't trust him, didn't really like him to be honest, but she could respect that Levi seemed to legitimately want her brother to be safe.

After directing them through the back alleys until they could see the large ships anchored, they each made for what was easily the largest one there, aptly named; Humanity's Strongest.

Even though Eren was nervous, scared (though he would never admit that to anyone, ever), and apprehensive of the future he couldn't deny there was a certain . . . excitement overcoming him.

He would finally, finally be able to sail on the ocean he's been staring at for the eighteen years he'd been alive. He nearly couldn't stop himself from sprinting the rest of the way.

"-we'll find a job for you soon enough."

Eren realized that someone had been talking to him while he had been spacing out. "Wait what?"

"Tch, stupid brat," Levi growled. "Weren't you listening? I said Mikasa can use her knowledge of medicine while we're sailing and we'll find a job for you to do."

"A job?"

Levi smirked. "Don't think I'd bring you on my ship just so you could sit around with your thumbs up your ass."

"That's right!" Hange said excitedly. "Everyone contributes! And any slackers automatically volunteer as my newest test subjects-"

"What?" Eren's eyes widened in fear. She couldn't be serious . . .

"I'm kidding, you big cutie!" She cackled. "But there will be consequences if you don't do your job, either by fate or by the Grouchy McGrouchy pants, Captain Levi!"

"How many people are on the ship?" Mikasa asked, joining into the conversation.

"Don't worry," Petra smiled. "Once we set sail, you'll be introduced to everybody. As an already established team, we'll do our best to help you settle into a routine."

She slowed her pacing to match her Captain's and began a quiet conversation that neither Eren nor Mikasa could make out, not that they were trying too hard; Hange was stealing most of their attention anyway.

"Eren! I hope you don't mind but I took your bandage from earlier, I would love to do some new tests on blood, I have so many ideas to carry out! Maybe you want to help?"

"Ah- um," Eren stuttered. "No thanks."

"Oh, poo." Hange gave a pout.

"But- er, I wouldn't mind . . . giving you some company? While you work?" Eren knew as soon as he said those words; he was going to regret it. Hange practically glued herself to his arm and giggled madly.

"Levi-i-i! Little cutie Eren is _mine_ now, I'm not giving this one up hahaha!"

He gave her a dirty look and pulled her forcefully off of Eren as they approached his ship. They all clambered aboard one after the other.

Eren nearly fell off the edge as soon as he got up because Mikasa stopped right in front of him. Only Levi's quick reflexes caught him before he could topple completely backwards.

"I didn't carry you that whole goddamn way just so you could die on my ship, brat."

He gave a cheeky thanks and turned to his sister. "Mikasa, why the hell did you stop like that?"

She snapped out of whatever daze she was in and stepped sideways, giving Eren perfect view of what made her stop in her tracks.

This wasn’t possible! He was _dead_ . . . right?

"A-Armin?!" he choked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here's my tumblr, yo](http://tsukiomnom.tumblr.com/)
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> I'm so excited for the next chapter, even though I'm the one writing it lol

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! leave any comments you have, it gives me motivation :)  
> New chapter Monday


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